Round 1 – Maine native Tim Boetsch gets a big ovation from his home state fans. He’ll shoot in quickly, but Tavares sprawls out of it and pushes Boetsch to the cage. He lands a knee. Boetsch looks for a trip takedown, but Tavares again defends and then lands a nice elbow in tight before they separate again. Boetsch again will look to get in and bully Tavares, but the Hawaiian won’t go down. Up in the clinch, Tavares lands a big elbow that cuts Boetsch open, and he comes behind it with another one. Boetsch splits off, but then Tavares cracks him with a right hand. The right uppercut is there again as Boetsch tries to change levels. Boetsch nearly reaches Tavares with a right and a left. But suddenly Boetsch lands a right hand and Tavares goes to the canvas. Boetsch pounces as the crowd cheers, but Tavares is back up and lands a punch of his own before tying the Maine native up. Tavares lands a trio of knees, then another, and another. He keeps firing those knees off against the fence, more than a dozen, as the round winds down. It’s a 10-9 first round for Tavares on the Junkie scorecard.

Round 2 – Tavares puts the pressure on right away in the second, trying to open the cut by Boetsch’s left eye even further. They clinch for a bit, then separate back to the middle. Boetsch tries to shoot in for a takedown, but Tavares is easily out of there. He lands a right hand, but Tavares walks through it and lands a couple punches of his own. Boetsch again moves in wanting to bring the fight down, but Tavares ties him up, then spins him around and pushes him to the cage. Tavares looks for some more knees, then tries to come back over the top with punches. After a stalemate, they separate. And then out of nowhere, Boetsch lands a short left punch. He drops Tavares to the canvas. He pounces on him as Tavares quickly pops up to retreat. But Boetsch tries to tee off, and with a right hook right on the button, it’s all over. It’s a big comeback and a pretty sizable upset, and the Maine crowd goes crazy for their own.